I few years ago I converted a 1980s Shogun touring bike with 27" wheels into a 650B "rando" outfitted bike, going all-out with frame modifications by a local builder to reposition the canti posts, relocate bridges, and incorporate internal wiring. Many of you have already seen it, so I won't post those pics again. But after a few years of riding it on extended rides, I got tired of its heavy weight and stiff frame, and all the rando kit--front rack, integrated dynamo lighting, fenders--just bogged it down even more. I ended up buying a much lighter, sprightlier Rawland Stag frameset, and built that up to replace the Shogun (the built up bike is 6 lb lighter and so much faster! I recently posted that here as well). Meanwhile, my everyday city bike (1972 Jeunet 700c road bike with 1x5 derailleur drivetrain) suffers from not being able to fit tires larger than 28mm with fenders, and the streets where I live aren't known for their smoothness!
So what to do with my Shogun? Why not try it out as a city bike? It already has nice wide 650x42b tires with fenders, and integrated lighting. So I swapped out the rando rack for a larger VO porteur rack (which I had a local welder modify to integrate nicely with the bike and lighting), threw a longer stem on and swapped out the drop bars with bar-end friction shifters for VO postino bars with 8-speed indexed shifters on Paul thumbies. While at it, I swapped out the Suntour drivetrain with wide, sub-1:1 alpine gearing for a vintage Shimano 105 drivetrain with taller, narrower gearing more suitable for every day riding. SPD pedals were swapped out for for MKS touring. I topped it off with a Planet Bike mudflap and the saddlebag/support from my previous commuter.
Pics:
(The reflective triangle is because more than half of my commute is in the dark, much of it with my 9-year old daughter).
The verdict? The bike works so much better in this configuration! It rides smoothly and the riding position is comfy, and while it will never be fast, the penalty of its 32+ lb weight is inconsequential over the short 2-5 mile distances it sees daily. And while the steering felt sluggish before, in this configuration it feels lighter and more balanced, even with a small load on the rack-- probably a result of a shift of the center of gravity rearward with the different riding position.